President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on international vehicles and automotive elements might be one other financial blow for Washington, which has lately emerged as one of many prime automotive import hubs within the nation.
The tariffs, introduced final week and set to begin Thursday, would require U.S. importers to pay a 25 p.c tax on imported vehicles and sure automotive elements.
Assuming they aren’t paused or modified, as has occurred with some earlier Trump tariffs, the brand new tariffs may dampen automotive gross sales by including $1,000 to $9,000 to costs for international vehicles and home vehicles constructed with foreign-made elements, in keeping with estimates by Cox Automotive.
“It’s super concerning,” Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho stated. “The auto business has been one of (the ports’) fastest-growing lines of businesses.”
It’s additionally extra potential financial ache for Washington’s very trade-dependent economic system. Because the begin of Trump’s second time period, his combative commerce and international insurance policies have raised enterprise dangers to all the pieces from Washington’s fruit exports and electronics manufacturing to its aerospace exports and vacationer companies that rely on Canadian guests.
However the newest tariffs come simply because the ports of Tacoma and Seattle have been reaping the advantages of a serious win within the world auto commerce.
In 2022, Port officers persuaded Korea-based Hyundai Glovis, Hyundai’s in-house logistics operation, to consolidate its West Coast shipments by Tacoma, in keeping with the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which oversees marine cargo operations at each ports.
Largely in consequence, auto imports rose to just about 340,000 models in each 2023 and 2024, or greater than double 2019 ranges, in keeping with alliance knowledge.
Most of these new vehicles enter by Tacoma through huge “roll on, roll off” vessels that carry a mean of 6,000 automobiles, with some overflow going to Seattle’s Pier 46. Automobiles by Kia, which is partly owned by Hyundai, have been imported although Tacoma because the Nineteen Nineties.
Imported automotive elements, in the meantime, make up one of many largest fractions of containerized volumes at each ports, in keeping with the alliance. A lot of that’s from Honda and Toyota and sure for Midwestern U.S. automotive factories.
Honda and Toyota “are critical customers,” stated Andre Elmaleh, the alliance’s senior supervisor for noncontainer enterprise growth. With new tariffs on automotive elements, Elmaleh stated, “what’s going to happen with those?”
Automotive imports alone generate round 2,500 direct jobs throughout the Seattle-Tacoma area, together with in terminal operations, stevedoring and longshore, logistics, warehousing, and rail and truck transportation, in keeping with alliance knowledge.
At this level, port officers don’t know the way native import volumes will probably be affected by the brand new tariffs. That’s partly as a result of it’s unclear how lengthy the brand new tariffs will probably be in impact, or whether or not Trump may briefly droop them, as he has with tariffs on items from Canada and Mexico.
Trump has stated the tariffs are everlasting.
Tong Zhu, the alliance’s chief industrial and technique officer, stated the ports “will do everything possible to support our customers,” however added that she is “hoping that this is just a negotiation tactic.”
Predictions are additionally sophisticated by the very alternative ways the tariffs will hit particular person carmakers and importers, and the way every firm responds.
Some carmakers are closely uncovered: Lots of Chevy’s top-selling fashions, such because the Silverado, are made in Mexico, in keeping with business reviews.
The alliance stated some international carmakers seem to have stepped up shipments lately in an effort to get stock to U.S. sellers earlier than the tariffs. On Saturday, a vessel filled with vehicles is anticipated at Pier 46 in Seattle.
